COUNTRY REPORT – ETHIOPIA

A happy school girl from South Gondar rural area non-formal school

Chapters:

1. Introduction
2. Political context
3. Field trips – visiting non-formal schools around Bahir Dar and Adama
4. Final workshop in Addis Ababa
5. Conclusion – highlights and challenges/recommendations


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1. INTRODUCTION

Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in Africa with economy largely depending on agriculture. While the sector suffers from frequent droughts, non-existent infrastructure and primitive cultivation tools, it still accounts for almost 80 percent of the total employment.

Almost two thirds of the country´s population are illiterate, living mostly in heavily underdeveloped rural areas, with 50.3 percent of male and only 35.1 percent of female being literate (2003 est.).

Child labour is commonly seen in urban as well as in rural areas. The International Rescue Committee reported in 2006 that almost 60 percent of Ethiopian children are engaged in some kind of work.

Children in urban zones tend to be involved in paid work, such as shoe shining and street peddling, unlike children living in rural areas who are mostly unpaid for their work, as majority of them helps their parents. Cattle herding, water fetching and selling goods by the road represent their daily routine.

Child labour is banned by Ethiopia´s constitution but the definition and understanding itself is very much unclear among the public and even among the government officials, as proven in the final workshop in Addis Ababa.

According to the UNICEF survey conducted in 2006 the school enrollment rate at the primary level is around 55 percent for boys and 47 percent for girls, while the secondary education level reported enrollment of 23 percent of boys and only 13 percent of girls.

Non-availability of schools in remote rural areas is perceived as the major problem in Ethiopia’s failing education system. Thus non-formal education system came to existence, the objective of which is to fill the gap exhibited in the provision of basic primary education by Ethiopia´s government as well as private sector.

Non-formal schools are run solely by local NGOs with the help of international donors. It is a unique model applied in regions with no infrastructure and based on self-help community work and relying on social mobilization.

Non-formal schools are flexible and its curricula are tailored to the needs of local children and their parents who need their children’s assistance in tending to cattle, households or farms. Thus some subjects are shortened to the minimum and others, e. g. science, are focused on nature, plants, animals etc.

The final workshop held in Addis Ababa, was attended by a high number of local NGOs’ representatives as well as government officials, namely from the Ministry of Education and Ministry for Women Affairs.

The workshop sparked a lively discussion on the issue of child labour. While the stated goal to get all children to school seems to be shared by both local NGOs as well as government officials, the approach how to achieve this widely differs (more in 4th Chapter – Final Workshop).

The Ethiopian part of the Stop Child Labour campaign’s Africa Tour 2008 was organized by People In Need (PIN) that is involved in school construction projects as well as water well drilling and Forum on Street Children (FSCE), which helps the out-of-school socially disadvantaged children attain their basic needs including education.

The Bahir Dar trip was coordinated by Wabe Children´s Aid and Training (WCAT), which runs non-formal education (NFE) centers in two rural communities of Lay Gayint Woreda in South Gondar, about 600 km north of Addis Ababa.


2. POLITICAL CONTEXT

Among African countries, Ethiopia stands unique as it has never been colonized with the exception of 1936-1941 Italian occupation. Nevertheless, the country has had its share of turmoil and crises.

In 1974 the military junta under a self-proclaimed Marxist Mengistu Haile Mariam deposed Emperor Haile Selassie and established a socialist regime with the help of Soviet Union and Cuba. Under Mengistu´s iron fist rule, thousands of people were persecuted and imprisoned, property confiscated and church activities banned.

Following the toppling of the junta in 1991 by the coalition rebel forces of the Ethiopian People´s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), the political and economic conditions relatively stabilized with the government holding a firm grip on power.

In 1994 Ethiopia adopted a constitution followed by its first multiparty elections. Under the constitution the state is the sole owner of all land, providing leases to its tenants, but the lack of investment into mechanization of agriculture means it is labour-intensive and thus prone to exploitation of child workers, despite the constitutional ban of the practice.

At the moment the government is discussing a controversial law on civil society organizations. Local as well as international NGOs fear that the government wants to install full control over their work through this law.


3. FIELD TRIP - VISITING A SCHOOL IN BAHIR DAR AND NASARETH


Rural area community school in South Gondar, Ethiopia

I. From Addis Ababa to Bahir Dar

After the arrival to Addis Ababa in the morning and introductory meeting/briefing with the representatives of the People in Need and Forum on Street Children-Ethiopia (FSCE) later in the day, the delegation set off for a field trip to Bahir Dar early morning the next day.

While delegates took a plane, reporters covered the distance of more than 560 kilometers in a car, which actually helped them appreciate the situation in the rural areas where child labour is rampant. The most typical forms of child labour, which can be easily detected, are herding the cattle and fetching the water.

Another highly visible feature of the life in the countryside is the engagement of women in the business of carrying apparently heavy loads on their backs and heads, complemented by a lack of available (or affordable) transportation. The picture of poverty, which burdens this nation of nearly 80 million people, is straightforward and comes across rather bluntly just by looking out the car window.

The delegation in the meantime got introduced to the system of non-formal education (NFE) through a visit of FSCE-run NFE center in Bahir Dar, where the children of underprivileged families get a chance to learn how to read and write. All of the children said they wanted to continue their education in a formal school once they finish the 3-year NFE cycle.

Instead of having parents of some of the students called to school for a meeting, the delegation opted to visit a dwelling place of an 8-year-old student Bemnet Haymanot who lived in a nearby slum area. It transpired she was the first literate person in the entire family, both of her parents being beggars who had relocated to the city from a rural area some years ago. Bemnet enjoyed a full support of her mother, who saw education for her daughter as the best way out of poverty for all of them. Bemnet said she had every intention to continue her schooling in a formal school.

The delegation then went to see one such formal school where some of the “graduates” of NFE centers have been transferring. When asked about how these students were coping, the teachers gave only a general answer, alleging there is a mechanism to deal with potential problems, which involves the children’s former guardians (i.e. FSCE). The delegation also visited the school’s library, which was rather basic.

More time and multiple visits in various schools would likely be needed to ascertain whether the NFE centers function as a worthy substitute of the formal education for those whose ambition in life goes beyond merely being literate.

II. Visiting rural areas, South Gondar

The next day was spent visiting both non-formal and formal education centers/schools in the countryside about three hours’ drive from the city of Bahir Dar, in the mountainous area of South Gondar district.

The delegation was assisted and guided by Mr. Adane Melese, deputy director of WCAT, organization that runs several projects in the area including two NFE centers which were visited by the delegation along with a brief stop at the formal school in the area, where the students can later transfer.

Visiting the first NFE center in the village of Tirtnat , the delegation was received by the leaders of the local community who were involved in the project from the very beginning, providing labour for the construction of this very basic mud-brick walled, earthen-floored facility, consisting of just three rooms including one fully furbished and one partly furbished classroom.

After an informal Q&A with the elders in front of the school, the delegation proceeded to inspect the facility including a classroom where a class was being conducted. Children then interacted with the delegation through their teacher, Mr. Melese and local project coordinator and performed a traditional song and dance. A small session followed where the community leaders further engaged in a debate with the delegation, responding positively to the questions about the role of education for the children.

Prompted by Venkat to say whether they would send their offspring to a public school if transportation and food was provided, they all answered in a positive, suggesting the herding of the cattle could be taken care of on a collective base, pooling all the adults from the village.

After the lunch in a town a short visit at the local public school followed, where the delegation was met by the school’s young director and his deputy who briefly interrupted the class just for the occasion. The modern facility had allegedly no problem with dropping-out of its students and the teachers’ union was nominally present but did not offer any extra-curricular activities or any other school-improving projects of the like the SNE in Morocco is known for.

The day’s program culminated with the visit of another non-formal education center run by WCAT, where the delegation met with the kebele (lowest administrative unit) chairman and his councilors including the one responsible for the education. It transpired that from the 3000 children living in the area only about half went to school, part of the problem being the non-availability of education service to the more distant dwellers. The chairman said he would welcome at least three more schools in his kebele and said he was ready to ask the administration to provide them.

The genuinely warm reception with the exchange of ideas about education’s role in the society plus children’s rights and obligations was followed by an offering of a communal meal of injara with potatoes and local home-made beer. The delegation also witnessed the ceremony of the lowering of the flag at the end of the day’s classes and dispatching the children home.

III. Meeting regional representatives in Bahir Dar

The next day’s program accommodated both a visit to the local tourist attraction – waterfalls at the Blue Nile river – during which the delegation could take their minds off their primary mission for a little while and later an audience with the regional education officials, taking place rather interestingly in the Ethiopian Teachers’ Association’s office (more about the unions issue later).

The officials were very defensive of the government’s record in the field of education, at moments making claims of arguable veracity (like the one about the density of school network reportedly reaching within 3-4 kilometers from every child in the country or about alleged 80-thousand membership of the newly created teachers’ union just in Amhara State).


Pupils of NFE school in South Gondar


IV. Visiting projects in Adama, Oromiya Region

Following day’s program took the delegation to the city of Adama, some two hour drive south of Addis Ababa and a major intersection for long distance truck drivers, which to an extent determines the character of the city as one where children are extremely vulnerable to trafficking and prostitution.

The program started in the local headquarters of FSCE, where the delegation was met by Mr. Belay Alamu, local head of the organization and Asmerom Mekonen, his deputy. They showed the delegation around the complex - the only real estate the organization actually owns in Ethiopia (all of their other offices are rented) - which alongside the offices houses non-formal education center complete with a high-standard computer lab and a sprawling playground outside.

The delegation had a look into one of the classrooms where minors were being educated and proceeded to a nearby office of a local ‘iddir’ (full name: Inniredada Iddir Yeidiroch Mahber), a community association, which together with several others in the area transformed itself from its usual form of a social club into a full-fledged civic organization with a particular vision that tries to help the underprivileged members of the community, especially orphans.

The iddir, a legal entity registered by Ministry of Justice, collects a 1 birr monthly fee from its members to finance a program which supports education of the orphans in the area. From the total number of 719 orphaned children in 4 kabeles where Inniredada Iddir is present, 130 enjoy support of the program. The selection process is needed due to obvious budgetary constraints, but according to the program assistant the delegation had a chance to sound out, the money (80 birr a month) goes to the ones who need it most.

V. Child Protection Project

There is another interesting FSCE-sponsored undertaking in Adama which the delegation got introduced to – the so-called child protection project consisting of several elements including the so-called child friendly court (CFC), where victims of child abuse get a special treatment - court proceedings are conducted with the help of a social worker/intermediary who sits with the child in a detached room connected with the court hall via a video-link.

The purpose of such arrangement is to prevent the child’s further victimization. Majority of the 47 cases the court has tried since the inception of the CFC in November 2007 consists of the sexual abuse. The child labour exploitation, as the delegation was told, gets hardly ever reported. This is partly because of its dubious status as illegal on paper, but largely tolerated in practice.

There are also the specially trained Child Protection Units at three police stations across the city, which are tasked with handling the cases of child abuse. To enable people to report these, a special hot-line has been established. The delegation went to see its operating centre at one of the police stations.

The project also involves the local hospital where the victims of child abuse, especially of the sexual kind, get a special treatment in cases where the medical examination is required by the police or court.

The project came thanks to the dedication of the FSCE and is maintained financially through grants from abroad. It seems to be working nicely but would likely be phased out if the one to cover its costs were the Ethiopian government rather than the foreign donors, the NGOs fear.


Venkat Reddy of MV Foundation  consulting the local community members in South Gondar

VI. THE PROBLEMS OF THE TEACHERS’ UNION

The day’s program culminated with the specially arranged meeting with Mr. Tenna Sirabezu, one of the leaders of the original Ethiopian Teacher’s Association. The E.T.A. has recently fell out of favour with the incumbent government and is struggling to continue its work with mixed results.

This erstwhile active teacher’s union, which has been taking up taboo issues like HIV & AIDS and child labour, is in serious danger of being disbanded. It is still waiting to see whether its attempt to re-register as the National Teachers’ Union (after the government stripped it of its original name by giving it to another quickly formed and allegedly less independent teacher’s union) bears any fruit.

Mr. Sirabezu vividly described the difficulties the members of his union have been facing when trying to organize themselves. He insisted the majority of teachers in Ethiopia are still with the old union and stand behind its program, although it is currently impossible to implement it on a national level. The members can apparently play their part only in their individual capacity.


VII. FINAL WORKSHOP IN ADDIS ABABA

The last working day of the tour’s visit in Ethiopia was fully devoted to a workshop, organized in Addis Ababa’s Hotel Panorama. It provided the campaign with a platform to spread its message through sharing of experience between the delegation members (both from the work in their respective countries and from Africa Tour) and representatives of various NGOs active in child rights’ issues.

The debate was lively and as expected, it mostly revolved around the very question of tolerating the child labour in Ethiopia. The government’s representatives stressed their commitment to fight against “the worst forms of child labour”, but made it quite clear that light forms of work for children are still to be considered acceptable “at this stage of our country’s development”.

Some NGOs concurred, but the delegation stood its ground and even scored an unexpected victory when chairperson of the already-mentioned Inniredada Idriss, Mr. Tamirat Asfain, took up the challenge and declared ‘child labour free zone’ in his area of responsibility.

In his concluding words, the head of FSCE, Mr. Meseret Tadese, summed up the day’s proceedings with words which received a clear nod from those present: There is no doubt all were in agreement on the objective of securing each child’s right to education, we may just differ on which is the best strategy to achieve this for each of our countries.

There was also a general consensus that all the Ethiopian organizations active in child rights’ issues work together to help streamline their efforts and that they should keep meeting and exchanging experiences and know-how. SCL Campaign’s Africa Tour was given credit for helping bring about this momentum.


VIII. CONCLUSION – CHALLENGES AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Highlights:

• NGOs´ cooperation with state institutions and government officials, such as judges, police, hospitals

• Prolific and successful social mobilization of communities

• NGOs reaching out to deprived children who seem to be “forgotten” by the government

• Mainstreaming into formal education system

• Articulation of the need for education raised by the poor

• Parents are actively involved through school committees

• Parents showed pride of their children being educated

• Parents believe education is the only way to get out of the endless cycle of poverty.

• Parents are willing to make sacrifices for their children´s education by adjusting their work, schedule and free their children to attend school

Challenges/recommendations:

In general, civil society and government need to:

• Address the issue of rural area child labour, such as cattle herding (adults to take shifts, build fences etc.)

• Revise the laws concerning child labour

• Deepen the overall understanding of child labour among the general public through awareness campaign

• Conduct more study and research on child labour

NGOs need to:

• Make efforts to promote best practices with the government

• address all children in labour

• mobilize communities more

• focus on awareness- raising in the issue of child labour among communities rather than with the government officials

• negotiate with the Ministry of Education over the school governance issues

• Recognize the demand for education from the poorest of the poor

• Demonstrate the feasibility of at least one child labour free zone with the help of kebele (local community) leaders, to demonstrate the concept is viable

• Build a network dedicated to eradicate all forms of child labour

• Review quarterly the progress of the campaign with the government, NGOs and trade unions

• Involve the private sector and media

Recommendations for the unions:

The divided teachers unions need to work together (national to local level) in the fight against child labour